Editorial: Tragedy hits all in closeknit region

Early morning phone calls rarely bring good news.

Mine rang at 8.05am on Saturday.

By that time, phones had already been ringing across Wairarapa.

The first frantic calls were made to emergency services at 7.25am, reporting a hot-air balloon on fire over Carterton. Police officers, fire crews, ambulances, and Civil Aviation officials had been called.

And the worst calls were already being made, those desperate early morning phone calls to parents, children, siblings neighbours and friends, bringing unimaginable news.

Many in the area would have known immediately, as soon as they heard the news a hot-air balloon had crashed, who the pilot was.

Others heard the news by radio or internet and braced themselves for the phone to ring, praying and hoping their loved one wasn't among the victims.

Carterton and Wairarapa are too small for a tragedy this big.

The crash may have been labelled a national tragedy, but its impact will be most keenly felt here. Some of the 11 victims were not from Wairarapa, but their loss will still be felt as though they were our own, and the shock waves from their deaths will touch almost every part of this community.

From the fire crews called out to the harrowing scene, to the neighbours who rushed in vain to help and who sheltered the shocked families, so many local people played a part, and the details of Saturday's horrific accident will be with them forever.

Heather McCracken is the editor of Wairarapa Times-Age.